A new report has found dangerous and even toxic toys sitting on store shelves with some emitting potentially hazardous chemicals, choking hazards and harmful noise levels.

Examining 200 toys at major retailers and dollar stores, the 27th annual report by U.S. Public Interest Research Group found at least one toy exceeding federal lead levels and another containing chemical levels illegal in two states.

The toy confirmed with a toxic level of lead, a Morphobot action figure purchased
at a Dollar Tree store, contained 180 parts per million (ppm)
in lead, exceeding the federal limit of 110ppm raised in 2008.

Tested: a Morphobot action figure, left, was found exceeding federal lead levels while this Dora the Explorer backpack, right, was found with phthalate levels exceeding those set in two states without a warning label

REPORT'S CONCERNS

Lead:Federal legal limit of 100ppmEx: Morphobot action figure

Phathalates: chemicals used to made plastics softerFederal legal limit of 1000 ppm of each six phthalates

Magnets:Dangerous and potentially fatal if swallowedEx: Buckyballs

Choking hazards: Small parts, many with label violations in size and placementEx: rubber traction bands on wheels; toy food

A backpack featuring cartoon
character Dora the Explorer also had phthalate levels of 320ppm, below the
federal standard of 1000ppm but higher than Washington state and
California’s despite no warning label.

Phthalates, a chemical used to soften plastic, are linked to reproductive defects and other health problems.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

No other toys out of about three dozen tested were found with excessive lead or phthalates beyond the federal standard.

'The main trend that we saw this year was
that we didn't find as many toxic toys as we thought we would,' said
Nasima Hossain, a public health advocate for U.S. Public Interest
Research Group.

Too much: This Dora the Explorer guitar was cited for being excessively loud, five decibels higher than hearing experts advised limit of 80db

Excessive: This CAT honk & rumble wheel, left, and toy keys, right were also found emitting 85db, a level advised as harmful by hearing experts according to the report

The group reports toys being safer
than ever, notably in toxicity, but there being increasing issues in
choking hazards and loud toys that could potentially lead to hearing
loss.

Those two fears shaped into their primary concern in this year’s report.

A Dora the Explorer guitar and a set of colourful toy car keys for infants were cited for being excessively loud, five decibels higher than hearing experts advised limit of 80db.

Play food sets of everything from little strawberries to miniature sausage as well as small dragster cars that had tiny rubber traction bands on the wheels that could come loose were all listed as small enough to cause a child to choke.

Not for consumption: The report narrows in on toy food, especially small pieces like in this play set, which can be accidentally swallowed by young children

Hazardous: This set of a bowling ball and miniature bowling pins, left, and rubber wheels, right, capable of coming off, also received criticism for its small warning labels for pieces able to be swallowed

The group also highlighted renewed concerns about magnets, especially the high-powered magnets in executive desktop toys for adults or a finger-play magnet toy for kids called Snake Eggs that PIRG found at a dollar store.

PIRG cited government estimates of 1,700 emergency room visits between 2009 and 2011 involving the ingestion of high-powered magnets.

Most cases involved children between 4 and 12 years old. Older children have accidentally ingested the balls while trying to mimic tongue piercings. The magnets, such as the ones in the popular Buckyball desktop toys, can cling together if swallowed, pinch internal tissue and lead to serious injuries.

Dangerous: High-powered magnets in executive desktop toys for adults, left, and a finger-play magnet toy for kids called Snake Eggs, right, found at a dollar store were also warned

The Toy Industry Association's Stacy Leistner says his group agrees that strong magnets are a risk for children and should not be available to them.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission this summer sued New York-based Maxfield and Oberton, the maker of the Buckyball desktop toys, to stop their sale. The finger-fidget toys are designed for adults, but CPSC said it was seeing too many injuries involving children.

Maxfield has maintained the toys are for adults, marketed to adults and carry clear warning labels -- but it announced last month that it would stop making the Buckyball series. CPSC is considering a ban on high-powered magnet sets.